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The Shallows Summary

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In The Shallows, Nicholas Carr discusses the internet’s effect on human thought. This is perfectly shown in Chapter Nine which is titled “Search, Memory.” Carr speaks on how the internet effects long term memory. The chapter quotes one of the smartest minds in the history of Western Civilization, Socrates. Socrates is quoted, “Writing down their thoughts and reading the thoughts of others had written down, they become less dependent on the contents of their own memory.” (The Shallows, Pg. 173) Socrates was onto something, just not in the right in the right part of history. With all of the knowledge available online and just a few key strokes away, there comes a loss of the long term memory. Why retain any knowledge if it just a hyperlink away? …show more content…

Wegner at Harvard …show more content…

The study showed “sophisticated algorithmic search engines, has made accessing information as easy as lifting a finger. No longer do we have to make costly efforts to find the things we want.” (Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips, Pg.) “The four studies found that when people are faced with difficult questions, people are primed to think about computers.” (Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips Pg.) This is proving the point Socrates made in his quote “Writing down their thoughts and reading the thoughts of others had written down, they become less dependent on the contents of their own memory.” (The Shallows, Pg. 173). That the knowledge of the world at the fingertips of anyone and everyone. The fact that a keystroke will take give access to any information and no need to remember anything in long term

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